MP minister says arms licences should be issued to rape and molestation victims to 'increase their morale'

Madhya Pradesh women and child development minister Archana Chitnis on Wednesday called for arms licenses to be issued to rape and molestation victims on a priority basis to "increase their morale".

"Any woman, girl or young woman victim suffers more mentally than physically, therefore it is very important that steps be taken to increase their morale. I am in the favour of giving them arms licenses on a priority basis," she told reporters in Bhopal.

Chitnis' statement came in wake of the sexual molestation of a student returning from coaching and her travails in trying to register her complaint.

The 19-year-old woman was allegedly abducted and raped by four men near railway tracks in Bhopal. Police had arrested all the four accused and booked them under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. However, earlier three police stations had refused to accept the woman's complaint, despite both her parents being in police themselves.

A Government Railway Police (GRP) officer had even mocked her for "coming with a filmy story". It was only when the woman and her parents nabbed two of the culprits after a scuffle that the police registered a complaint.

Earlier, state home minister Bhupendra Singh had suggested victims receive the "Padmavati" award. This had sparked of a controversy and the state government is yet to take a decision on his suggestion.

Madhya Pradesh leads the country in incidents of rape and molestation, as per the report of the National Crime Record Bureau.

With inputs from IANS

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